


It’s Always Been You, Merlin

by Emrys MK (mk_malfoy)



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, M/M, Misunderstandings, Modern Era, Pining, Romance, Teen Romance, Teenage Drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-02-21
Packaged: 2018-05-22 11:06:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6077031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mk_malfoy/pseuds/Emrys%20MK
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin has waited years for Arthur to love him, so when he receives a Valentine’s Day card from him he thinks all his dreams are about to come true, but those dreams morph into a brief nightmare before the dream blossoms into reality.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It’s Always Been You, Merlin

**Author** : Emrys MK  
**Title** : It’s Always Been You, Merlin  
**Rating** : NC-17  
**Characters/pairings** : Merlin/Arthur, Balinor, Hunith, Morgana  
**Summary** : Merlin has waited years for Arthur to love him, so when he receives a Valentine’s Day card from him he thinks all his dreams are about to come true, but those dreams morph into a brief nightmare before the dream blossoms into reality.  
**Words** : 6,500  
**Warnings** : Angst, explicit sex, misunderstanding, pining, teenage drama, language, modern era, happy ending  
**Disclaimer** : I do not own anything BBC Merlin-related. Shine and the the BBC are the lucky ones.  
**A/N** : I began writing this the day after Valentine’s Day and I intended to post it that night but life took over and, as you see, it is almost a week later. It’s still a Valentine’s fic, though. I gave England a bank holiday to coincide with President’s Day for my own purposes. Huge thanks to Sindhu for beta-ing this on short notice!

 

A shivering, nervous Merlin stood at the familiar door shifting from foot to foot, his gloved hand raised, ready to knock. He’d been here standing outside Arthur’s door hundreds of times over the past three years, but each of those visits had been different from this one (day and night different) and he thought he’d rather be anywhere else at the moment, even sitting with Morgana in the courtyard of Avalon Uni, eating those disgusting little hearts with the weird sayings on them that she loved so much and seemed to enjoy inflicting on his sensitive taste buds each February.

Merlin grinned. Without her carefree spirit his life would be nowhere near as exciting. He adored Morgana Pendragon and couldn’t imagine his life without her. They’d even gone out a few times a couple years back. That had been a mistake, but fortunately not one that ruined their friendship. These days Merlin knew that Morgana had other hopes and ambitions for him, ones that would hopefully result in him becoming her brother-in-law. Merlin was not at all opposed to that idea and eventuality and perhaps he and Arthur were finally making the first baby steps towards that end. Merlin could only hope that’s what the card he’d received from Arthur the day before, which just happened to be Valentine’s Day, meant.

Arthur. Merlin closed his eyes and reminded himself why he was at Morgana’s brother’s place at this early hour. The thought brought a huge grin to his face and gave him a renewed resolve. He _could_ do this. He _would_ do this. All he needed to do was buck up and get on with it. Isn’t that what his father was always telling him?

His father. Merlin sighed and checked his mobile for the time, knowing that he had to be at work by nine. He’d left the house an hour early just so he could stop by Arthur’s and talk to him, but as he’d already wasted far too much time trying to calm his nerves, he’d have to be quick or else his father would send out the Royal Air Force to look for him. That was perhaps a slight exaggeration, but only just.

After several more seconds ticked by, Merlin shook his head. It was no good. He took a few steps back. Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea after all. What if Arthur was still asleep? Merlin rolled his eyes because of course Arthur would still be sleeping. He was famous for staying up until the early hours of the morning doing… who knew what he did when most of the human race was catching zzzs, but going to bed so late (or early) meant sleeping the weekend or holidays away, which is what Arthur did most of the time and what he was most likely doing now. Unless Merlin intervened, that is, which he had been known to do more often than not because he was a morning person and therefore thought everyone else should be as well.

That thought made Merlin laugh out loud and he was tempted to bang on the door and wake Arthur, but the past few days had been busy for the both of them and Merlin thought it best to let Arthur sleep late, even if it meant putting off the talk they needed to have. And if the true reasons for his delay tactics were somewhat different, no one but Merlin would ever know.

His shivering increased as he stood in the much too cold corridor of the swanky penthouse Uther Pendragon had given his son for getting accepted into Avalon Univesity, the chill in the air from the outdoors still clinging to him like a baby to its mother’s breast at feeding time. What good was it to pay an exorbitant amount of money to impress others when guests were left to freeze? One would think management could properly heat the hallways. Merlin sighed and felt such jealousy for the side of the bed that was empty beside a warm and snug Arthur, cocooned within his duvet, possibly dreaming about a certain brunet with blue eyes, prominent cheekbones, and ears he had yet to grow into. The thought sent a momentary warmth through Merlin’s body and he fervently wished he could pluck up the courage to knock so he could be warmed by not a mere thought but the real thing.

Merlin could only be so lucky. While most eighteen year olds were still dreaming, Merlin was on a coffee and croissants run for his father and the others who were about to begin their monthly meeting at Druid Industries. No holidays for the wicked or weary or whatever the saying was. Merlin let out a rather put upon sigh as he turned and headed towards the lift. He’d call Arthur to thank him for the card when he got off work.

Thirty minutes later he sat behind the messy desk in Freya’s cramped office that had too much furniture and too little room. He wished he could talk to his father about her lack of tidiness. It wasn’t his place, of course, but he was an unapologetic neat/clean freak and couldn’t understand how Freya’s desk could be so untidy yet she could tell anyone where anything was at any given time, even if she was in another country and was talking to you on the phone. It truly boggled Merlin’s mind. He was thankful he didn’t have to work with her on a daily basis, although on days like this he had to grudgingly admit that he was thankful for the warmth that being in her office afforded him. It was hands down preferable to being out in the freezing elements, where he woold be pelted with a mixture of icy rain and snow on a regular basis as he ran errands for his father whenever he wasn’t attending uni.

Doing the grunt work was Merlin’s regular job, but whenever Druid Industries had a meeting on a day he didn’t have class, such as today, which was a bank holiday, Merlin was the de facto answerer of phones and director of where _this_ was and how to get to _there_.

 _Beep_. Merlin clicked off his mobile, set it down, and turned his head to stare at the blinking phone on the corner of the desk as if his eyes could stop the annoying beeping. When it continued he gave a side glance to the office where his father and the others had only begun their meeting five minutes earlier. He let out a rather put upon sigh. This was going to be a long morning. “What do you need, Dad?” he asked.

“Please bring me the Thompson file; Freya says it’s in the blue file cabinet in the hot pink folder with a large TW on the tab,” came over the intercom in his father’s serious, no nonsense voice.

Two hours later the meeting ended and business suits exited the room in single file, reminiscent of hungry children standing in the lunch line after a long, laborious morning of boring lessons and grumbling tummies. Merlin closed the file he’d been reviewing, hopeful that his father would say he could leave early—that it was a holiday and his son should be able to enjoy at least part of the day before he had to return to uni the next day. Such were Merlin’s dreams, anyway. In actuality, he knew his father most likely had a day of errands planned for him. If he was lucky he’d get off at four.

“Off you go, Merlin. I know you’d rather be with Arthur since it’s a holiday from uni. Just do me a favour, yes?” asked Balinor Emrys as he exited the meeting room and closed the door behind him, a grin on his face as he watched the last person closing the door to the office.

Merlin’s cloudy mood suddenly turned sunny, reflective of the shift in his father’s demeanor and expression. The smile his dad now wore completely altered the man from a strict, no-nonsense businessman to an approachable father whom Merlin thought he could actually talk to. It was just too bad the man spent more time as the former rather than the latter. But, as his father was in a generous mood at the moment, Merlin wasn’t going to question it. “Yeah, anything,” said Merlin enthusiastically, without much thought beyond being happy that he had been dismissed early. His thoughts were already on what he would say when he saw Arthur. 

“Be careful,” his father said, his expression now somewhat serious. “I’m not going to give you another long talk; we’ve done that, I just don’t want to see you hurt, Merlin. I don’t know what is going on with you and Arthur these days, but if the grin on your face last night and this morning are any indication, things have become serious. I like Arthur, but you know how I feel about the two of you being together. Not to worry, Merlin,” he added, putting up a hand and changing his expression to a less tense one. “You are an adult and can do as you see proper, but please be careful. You have the rest of your life, son.”

And what if the rest of my life ended today or tomorrow is what Merlin wanted to say, but he decided that mightn’t be wise. “Dad,” he sing-songed instead, not wishing to hear this from his father; he’d already heard it from his mother. He stood and retrieved his coat and gloves and as he was putting them on he waited to see what other _advice_ his father would impart to him.

“Merlin,” answered his father in much the same manner, his eyes crinkled with the remnants of smiles that were long gone as he tilted his head towards the door, dismissing his son.

“Yeah, okay,” was Merlin’s reluctant response, just happy that his father hadn’t taken the opportunity to once again tell his son that he was meant for bigger and better things, that he was an eighteen year old taking classes that were mostly filled with twenty year olds, and that while Arthur came from an excellent family, his future would be one of wealth and privilege and he would have little concern for what truly mattered in life.

An hour later, after going home and grabbing a bite to eat, he was again at Arthur’s door. He should’ve called to make sure Arthur was awake, but when had he ever called before coming over? And Arthur certainly never called when showing up at Merlin’s house. 

Then again, this wasn’t exactly a normal afternoon, where Arthur and he were going out for drinks and food or going to see a movie or calling for last minute tickets to catch a rugby match. Those were all fun and easy. Merlin very much liked fun and easy; it fit his and Arthur’s personalities perfectly. What neither of them dealt well with was anything stressful. 

Stress. Merlin let out a stress-induced laugh. Yes, that is what this situation was and Merlin knew he was in over his head, even as he knew he had absolutely no reason to be fearful. Arthur had opened the door by sending him the card and Merlin was responding. It was rather cut and dry, really. Now if only Merlin could convince himself of that.

He’d known since his twelfth birthday that there never would be anyone else for him besides Arthur, but until the day before, Arthur had been off limits as anything more than a best mate. Arthur had gone through four girlfriends and two boyfriends in the past six years and he’d made it clear to Merlin that they were the best of mates and that they could do all manner of things together as friends, but nothing more. That talk had taken place eighteen months earlier after a night of too much ale and too little restraint and it had been hell on earth for Merlin, but he hadn’t uttered a word about them being more than mates since. 

It seemed that Arthur had had a change of heart. It was all a bit daunting, to be honest.

A silent pep talk later, Merlin knocked on the door and took a few deep breaths. It was going to be okay. In a few minutes all would be fine. Merlin would have talked to Arthur, Arthur would have responded, and then who knew what would happen. Now Merlin just needed to get there. He swallowed. After a few seconds he heard footsteps and laughter, but it didn’t sound like Arthur’s; in fact, he was almost positive it was that of a female.

He took a step back and shook his head. He had to have heard wrong, but then there was that laugh again and there was no doubt this time that it was decidedly female. Merlin took another step back, preparing to flee, but the door opened before he could put that plan into action. Arthur stood before him in a bath towel, looking happy and surprised. Merlin grinned awkwardly. He was too shocked to do anything else.

“Merlin, erm what are you doing here?” Arthur asked, his attention obviously divided between the doorway where Merlin stood and his bedroom, where he kept glancing back toward. He looked nervous.

Merlin wasn’t daft; he hadn’t been born yesterday. He took a few deep breaths, reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved the pink envelope he’d found in his mail box twenty hours earlier. His hand was shaking uncontrollably but he managed to throw it towards Arthur. “Sorry, my mistake. Silly me, Arthur. I don’t know why I thought you’d changed your mind.” And then Merlin turned and fled, roughly wiping at his eyes. He was such a fool.

He walked to the playpark and sat on one of the swings near the back, away from the throngs of children and their parents who were enjoying their day off school. Merlin was jealous of each and every one of them. As much as he had disliked school, he missed those innocent days when his parents had made all the important decisions for him and when someone had hurt him his mother would hold him and tell him that it would be okay.

Merlin knew that he was a complete idiot. He should have learned long ago. But _love was blind_ was the saying, wasn’t it? Yeah, Merlin was blind, alright. But no more. He was finished. Arthur Pendragon would never change. He had only ever wanted to be Merlin’s best mate and Merlin had been fine with that for years and would have continued as such forever if need be, but not now. Arthur had toyed with his heart and that was inexcusable.

Sometime later, probably hours, but as Merlin hadn’t checked his mobile, he had no idea of the time, he decided he should probably go home; he still had hours of revising and reading to do. 

As he gathered his things, he heard his name called out softly, a fair amount of emotion in the familiar voice. Merlin closed his eyes, shook his head and acted as if he hadn’t heard Arthur. What could he possibly say to make what he’d done alright?

“Merlin, please look at me,” Arthur said, his voice now audibly trembling.

No. There was nothing Merlin wanted to hear, and he couldn’t even look at Arthur. “Please go,” he said as he tried desperately to stave off the tears, opening his eyes as wide as possible and looking up at the cloudless sky.

“I can’t. You need to listen to me, Merlin,” and now Arthur’s voice was somewhat louder, a degree of desperation evident that Merlin had never heard in the other’s voice before.

Merlin glared as he lowered his gaze, staring into Arthur’s eyes as he worked hard to keep his voice soft and calm. Did Arthur even care that he’d just completely destroyed his best friend? “I need to listen to you? Haven’t you said and written enough, Arthur?” It was becoming more difficult to keep the tears at bay, but Merlin refused to give in to them. Arthur wasn’t worth it. Merlin had been made a fool of and he’d be damned if he was going to sit here and listen to empty platitudes and show how hurt he was. He began to stand.

“I didn’t send the card, Merlin.”

Good one, but not good enough. Merlin stood and let out a mirthless laugh. “I suppose your evil twin broke into your place, stole your writing pen that I GAVE YOU, took the paper and then held you hostage as he made YOU write this, because not even a twin of yours would know how you write my name—that you write the M in MY NAME differently than you write Ms in any other word. Don’t, Arthur. Just. Don’t.” Merlin began walking towards his house. 

He knew Arthur would follow him and well, that was fine. He was a big boy; if he wanted to follow Merlin like a little puppy, let him. He would no doubt talk non-stop and that would be more bothersome, but again, Merlin could handle it. It was only for ten minutes at the most then he’d be done with the one person he loved other than his parents. Such was his life.

“I wrote it yesterday morning and had every intention of taking it to your house and giving it to you, but I was too nervous. I couldn’t do it, Merlin. After I left for the day, Morgana came over. She sent it. I knew straight away after seeing the envelope this afternoon what’d happened. I called and gave her a piece of my mind. I’m sorry, Merlin. I never wanted to hurt you. You’ve got to believe me.” Arthur put his hand on Merlin’s shoulder and asked him to turn around and look at him.

Merlin threw Arthur’s arm off and continued walking. “Okay, so you wrote it, but that doesn’t explain why there was someone else in your bedroom this afternoon. Are you really that cruel, Arthur? That you would write those words to me then invite someone over to your flat to bugger them? Who was it?" Merlin finally gave in and allowed his tears. He no longer cared what Arthur thought of him.

He had waited years for those words Arthur had written to him and the knowledge overwhelmed him because even though Arthur hadn’t had the courage to deliver the card, he still had those feelings, which was like waking up on Christmas morning to see that Father Christmas had delivered all of Merlin’s dreams. But the fact of the matter was that Arthur had had someone else over… in his bedroom. That bit of shocking news broke Merlin and threatened to send him running.

Merlin wouldn’t share Arthur’s body; he’d always had to share Arthur and he knew that wouldn’t change. Arthur had many friends, as did Merlin, and that was how it should be, but Merlin’s patience did not extend to allowing Arthur to have a fuck buddy.

Arthur ran his hands over his face and looked into Merlin’s eyes. “It was Gwen, Merlin, and we didn’t do a damned thing. She came over last night; she and Lance had a fight and she needed to talk. We started drinking and it got late, so I let her use my bed. I slept on the sofa. I knew you’d be upset about it if you knew she was there, so I was nervous. I know I should have just been honest from the beginning, but I was afraid. I didn’t want to lose you. Please believe me, Merlin. It’s taken me six years to pluck up the courage to tell you how I feel. I would never do anything to hurt you. Never.”

Deflated and weary, Merlin had nothing left. He was drained. He’d woken up giddy, with expectations that all his hopes and dreams were within reach. “I’m knackered and I’ve got studying to do. I can’t do this now.” Merlin turned away and began walking. “Meet me here after your last class tomorrow, yeah?”

Within ten minutes Merlin was home, in his room, his door shut. He didn’t feel like talking to anyone. His father, who had just returned home and would soon be walking up the stairs, could read his son like no one else and that was the last thing Merlin’s broken spirit could handle. He needed to think and he didn’t look forward to his father telling him once again that Arthur was two years older and that he was far more mature.

“Supper’s ready, dear,” his mother called up from the bottom of the stairs.

Unable to get out of eating, Merlin shuffled into the dining room and fell into his seat, exhausted and feeling as if his very soul had been torn apart. He moved the food around on his plate. He knew his parents were looking at him; he could feel their stares. He took a deep breath and looked at his father. “Arthur loves me. I know you think he’s not for me, but I love him.”

It wasn’t his father who responded, but his mother. “Then why do you look as if you just lost your best friend, Merlin? If this is what love does to you, then I’m not—”

“It’s sorted,” Merlin replied dismissively, as if that would end the conversation. He finally speared a bit of shepherd’s pie and allowed the warmth and familiar flavour to replace the cold emptiness he felt.

The remainder of their supper was tense, but thankfully neither of his parents forced him to speak again, for which Merlin was grateful. He knew that at some point he’d be made to talk, but for now he was going to call this a minor victory.

Thirty minutes later he fell onto his bed and opened up his _American Literature from 1850-1900_ textbook. This was one of those classes he struggled in and he knew he was in for a long night. Why did he have to study American lit? He was British and that’s all he needed to know. That his instructor felt differently mattered little. Unfortunately, he needed to do well in the class.

As much as he wanted to fall asleep straight away, Merlin knew he’d be lucky to get three hours’ rest before it was time to leave at eight the following morning. He found his assignment and opened his book to page 532. His eyes glazed over. Why had he waited until tonight to read this?

There was a knock on his door. Merlin sighed. It seemed his time was up and that he’d have to answer to his parents. “Come in,” he said dejectedly, chewing on the end of the biro in his hand, but he spit it out when he saw that it was neither his mother nor father. It was Arthur. “Arthur,” Merlin whispered, not quite believing his eyes. How in the world had Arthur talked his way upstairs? In all the years they had been best mates Arthur had never been allowed in Merlin’s bedroom after five in the evening. It was an odd rule, but there it was. Merlin was impressed.

A nervous laugh and tentative smile was Arthur’s immediate response, but then he seemed to sense that Merlin was waiting for him to say something. “Your father threatened me within an inch of my life and your mother said if I hurt you I’m banned from this house forever. It’s a good thing I brought my books with. I guess when they saw them, they figured I wasn’t here for anything more so they told me to go ahead and come up. I hope you’re okay with this. There’s no sense in us being frustrated about lit and maths alone, yeah? Oh yeah, your mother told me she would prefer it if I used the guest room after we finished. That was on odd conversation, but of course, I agreed. But if you want me to leave now, just say the word and I’ll go,” Arthur said, looking as if Merlin’s answer would determine his future happiness.

Merlin was momentarily speechless. Arthur certainly was chatty, wasn’t he? Not that there was anything wrong with that, but it wasn't at all like him. Not that he wasn’t talkative, but not like this. Merlin knew he had to be nervous and it made him think he’d been too hard on Arthur earlier. He’d known when he left the playpark that he was going to forgive Arthur and that they would be fine, but he’d allowed Arthur to go home without knowing. That had been mean and Merlin was properly mortified as he continued to watch Arthur struggling to remain stoic as he waited for Merlin to say something. He finally allowed a smile to replace his frown. “Yeah, it’s fine. You can stay, and Mum hasn’t anything to worry about because if you hurt me I’ll throw you out myself, Arthur. Now come kiss me so we can start revising,” Merlin said with much more confidence than he felt. Was he being too lenient? Perhaps he should make Arthur grovel more, but he was terrified that if he continued as he was he would chase Arthur off and he would never come back. 

At peace with his decision, Merlin crawled to the end of the bed and leaned over when Arthur approached. Nothing that had happened earlier mattered now, other than the fact that Arthur had finally deemed it okay for them to be more than mates. Merlin wasn’t about to give that up.

And that was that. Arthur kissed Merlin, Merlin kissed Arthur and they took turns for far too long until they forced themselves apart when they heard someone walking in the hallway outside Merlin’s door. They backed away slowly and ended up sprawled out across Merlin’s bed, their bare feet dangling off the edge as they took turns reading paragraphs of American literature that neither of them was remotely interested in.

“What made you change your mind about us?” Merlin asked an hour later as he closed the textbook and threw it on the floor, thinking that the story he and Arthur’d read had to be the most boring story in the history of boring stories. The book safely on the floor, he turned to look at Arthur, still not quite believing that yesterday and today had really happened. Arthur loved him. Yes, the way Merlin found out was completely convoluted, but now that it was all said and done, he couldn’t care less about the hows and whys. 

“It’s complicated,” was Arthur’s succinct reply, his head turned away.

When it was clear Arthur meant to say nothing further, Merlin smiled and let out a chuckle. “Hello, Arthur, it’s me, Merlin? I think I define the term complicated, yeah? How many of your mates started uni at fifteen? I might be advanced in most subjects (American Lit would not be among those), but I’m still an eighteen year old. I’ve never been treated as others my age. I’m the one everyone comes to for notes, because it’s obviously so much easier to skive off the mundane work and rely on the smart kid than do the work yourself. No one, other than you and a few others want to have anything to do with me. So yeah, I know all about complicated and you know that. Please, Arthur, tell me? I truly want to know what made you change your mind. I promise not to interrupt. I know that frustrates you to no end.”

“You are adorably incorrigible, Merlin, you do know that, right? Some of us like to keep things to ourselves, but as I know you’ll never leave me be about this, I’ll tell you. Yes, you win, Merlin. You always do seem to win in the end when it comes to me, don’t you?” said Arthur, appearing somewhat frustrated, but it was probably more a look of resignation to the fact that he loved someone like Merlin who would always need reassurances and explanations. 

A wide, toothy grin was Merlin’s only response as he waited for Arthur to continue.

“It’s always been you, Merlin. I’ve known that for years, but you scared the hell out of me. Well, okay, not you, but the idea of you and me and something happening to ruin what we had. That was the worst feeling in the world, knowing I wanted you but fearing I’d lose you. I didn’t know what to do, so I did nothing and I think I did a fairly good job of pushing you away, but the completely lovely idiot you are, you never backed down. You put up with me when no one else would have. Two days ago Morgana came over and told me that it was time I grew up and made you an honest man. Her words. Not mine,” Arthur said, letting out the tiniest of smiles as he dared a glance at Merlin. “That’s all she said, then she left. And you know the rest. I’m sorry, Merlin. I have no excuse for what I put you through.” He reached out and caressed Merlin’s cheek. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

Merlin closed his eyes and basked in the feeling of Arthur’s fingers tracing his cheekbone. This was his dream come true. When he finally opened his eyes he cleared his throat and shook his head. “No need to be sorry, Arthur; we’re together now, and that’s all that matters. Thank you for answering my question. I didn’t mean to pry, but I just needed to know. And as much as I wish we could go on talking about us for the rest of the night, I guess we should answer these bloody questions and get onto the maths before we pass out of exhaustion,” Merlin said, though he wanted nothing more than to kiss Arthur silly.

Once they’d finished and answered the questions (Arthur might have answered them all, but Merlin did contribute by typing them into the computer), they moved on to studying for their maths test. Actually the class was advanced Algebraic equations, but to Merlin and Arthur, Maths was maths, no matter what they were called.

It was four in the morning when Arthur leaned his head onto Merlin’s shoulder and kissed it. “We need to get some sleep and there’s no way in hell I’m staying in here. Your father would skin me alive,” he said as he crawled to the end of the bed and sat up, gathering his books and papers and putting them in his bag. “After eco tomorrow come to mine?” he asked, his voice soft as he looked over his shoulder and smiled at Merlin. “I’ll cook for you and we can talk; I know we have much to discuss.”

Merlin grinned like the doctor when he saw Clara after thinking he’d never see her again. “Well then, how can I say no to that?” He stood from the bed and walked to where Arthur stood. “This just might be the best non-Valentine’s Day Valentine’s ever.”

“Indeed,” said Arthur as he took Merlin in his arms and hugged him. “I still can’t believe Morgana sent you the card. That was wrong on so many levels, but I guess had we been waiting for me to do anything, we might’ve been waiting forever,” Arthur said, rather self-deprecatingly.

No, Merlin didn’t believe that for a second. Arthur was methodical and never did anything halfway. If he had written that card for Merlin, he’d have got to the point where he would have been ready to give it to him. “Your sister meant well, Arthur. If you ask me, I think she deserves a big thank you note from us, perhaps reminding her that she owes us big time," Merlin said, grinning. He then pulled back and leaned forward again. When his lips met Arthur’s the kiss was soft and tender, but it quickly escalated into more and soon Merlin was hard and panting for more, but Arthur pulled back.

“I should get to bed. If your father walks in I’ll never live to tell the tale.”

Merlin didn’t think it was anywhere near as dire as that. If his parents had wanted to prevent this from happening then they would have never allowed Arthur in their son’s room after five. “Don’t think for a minute that they believe you’re going to use the guest room, Arthur. Think about it. When have you ever been allowed up here at night?” Merlin turned from Arthur and walked to his side of the bed. “What if this is our only chance to be together? I know, I know, you always say I’m too fatalistic. Maybe I am, but I can’t help it. I finally have you and if you think I’m letting you sleep in our guest room when you can sleep with me then you probably really should leave now because you don’t know me at all.” Yes, Merlin knew he was being dramatic, but he always had been and Arthur knew that about him.

“You know we’re going to regret this tomorrow when we’re sitting in classes, right?” Arthur said as he walked to the other side of the bed and pulled back his side of the duvet cover as he watched Merlin doing the same on his side.

There was the obvious answer of yes, Merlin knew they were screwed for the following day, but there was also the more important answer of who cares about classes. They had so many classes in their future to be awake and attentive for. What was one day’s worth of classes? Nothing. Merlin removed his shirt and undid his trousers. “I won’t regret a thing. Not a bloody thing.” When he was down to his boxers he climbed into bed and looked at Arthur, who was staring at him, an unreadable expression on his face. “Well, are you going to sleep in your jeans or are you going to get comfortable?” Merlin asked as if he and Arthur did this every night.

Arthur removed all but his briefs and joined Merlin under the covers. He continued to look unsure of himself, but he did appear to be smiling more and he was the one who made the first move. He scooted over to Merlin and kissed him, not at all like the previous kisses they’d shared, probably because this time there was skin on skin and there was the barest amount of cloth separating their straining cocks.

It wasn’t long before Arthur crawled atop Merlin, resting his hands on either side so as not to hurt Merlin, who was a good bit smaller. “I had every intention of not doing this, but you have no idea what you do to me, Merlin,” Arthur grunted out, peppering kisses down Merlin’s neck.

Caught up in the moment and ready to be taken to the next level, Merlin arched his back off the bed, but when that wasn’t enough he knew it was time. “Off. I want to feel you, Arthur.” Merlin wasn’t in a position to help, but he thought Arthur quite up to the task of removing their pants. He lifted up and let out a small moan when Arthur’s hands skirted over his cock as they slowly freed the squirming body of its final barrier to Arthur’s cock. Then he felt it. Arthur’s warm cock touched his and it was magic, but the magic was indescribable. Perhaps after a lifetime of this Merlin would be able to explain it. “Look in the top drawer,” Merlin said, ready for more. “You’ll find a condom and lube.” 

A few seconds later Arthur handed a condom to Merlin. “Put it on me?” He then lifted himself so that Merlin could scoot down and prepare him.

When Arthur sank into Merlin it was as if Merlin felt Arthur’s soul. Well, okay, not really, but it was one of those moments that set all the wrongs in his world right. The complexities of life would return in no time and he and Arthur would have to find a way to drag themselves to classes in a few hours that they were in no condition to go to, but for now Merlin was basking in the sheer pleasure of Arthur’s cock plunging into him. Arthur was being slow and careful, no doubt to keep it quiet so that there would be no parents wondering what their son and his best mate/lover was up to, but Merlin thought that was perfectly fine. They could do it hard tomorrow at Arthur’s.

Arthur kissed Merlin through their orgasms and licked Merlin’s hands after he removed the condom and threw it in the rubbish bin. The duvet had ended up on the floor so Arthur got out of bed, retrieved it and pulled it over them. “Happy day after Valentine’s Day, Merlin,” said Arthur before he scooted into Merlin’s arms and closed his eyes when Merlin pulled him closer.

“Happy day after Valentine’s Day, Arthur,” replied Merlin as he burrowed his head into Arthur’s chest. “See you in the morning.” He closed his eyes and grinned when not even a minute passed before he heard steady breathing. He couldn’t wait to wake up in the morning… in Arthur’s arms. It didn’t matter that they had class and it didn’t matter that they’d probably receive a failing grade on their test. All that mattered was they had found each other.

Merlin thought that after his maths test he would go buy one of those boxes of Valentine’s candy for Morgana. It was the least he could do to thank her for getting her brother and him to the next level. Merlin knew Morgana would be positively smug, thinking that she was one step closer to her goal. It was a nice thought to drift off to sleep to.


End file.
